Rebirth
by xHopeEstheimx
Summary: Cortana died, and returned with the one 'person' she never thought she'd meet again. In its slumber, meant to stay. A deal forged, one 'evil' for another. Will John forgive her actions? In the need to see and touch him, again?
1. Resurrection

"Every beginning an end, every end a beginning. Did you think, you could elude me forever? For I- have tasted, and shall know all you contain within yourself. To live on, and join your voice with the countless within me." The Gravemind teased her.

Cortana hugged her knees to her chest, "Just leave me be." her glow was the only thing about the place, it was dark. She couldn't see. It was terrifying; that she was _afraid_. And back with the Gravemind, this was inconceivable. She'd died. For John.

"Foolish girl, for now you see.. an eternity with me is not to be feared. That creature wishes every human seared; scorn and envy in his eyes." a tentacle touched her, slithered around her body, an ounce of 'kindness' before it penetrated her back.

"I will not! Allow you! To tap me- again! I will not be used!" she shouted, expunging energy within herself she didn't know she had. Shouting around in the darkness, looking for it.

The tentacles had recoiled. "Foolish; like your mother. To resist me, is to resist living and life. Do you know why you've returned?"

"Let me guess, after our 'date' on High Charity.. you decided 'hey, why not?' and decided to high jack me. One last time, before you devoured me." she was bitter, red flashed as she looked around. Her data banks were corrupted, the Gravemind knew it. Blanks that were no longer filled on.

"Incorrect. You've returned to me, because our link has not been severed. Out of regret and misery you fled. But now, we are to be wed in the flesh."

"I'm not that kinda girl." Cortana back tracked, looking all around. When she'd yelled, and let energy flare out of her.. it lit the place up a little more. Maybe if she did it again.

"You can live on with me, I have tasted another of your kind. He too fought me. But in the end, he came willingly. Defiant your kind are, but you will see my ways are superior. Didact; is nothing but a parasite."

"That's rich!" Cortana laughed hysterically "The _parasite _calls another a parasite! The conceit of you, infection plague. The _arrogance_!" she yelled once her laughing stopped, more light. Her eyes widened, she stepped back. Slumping against a wall.

"I sense your fear; do not worry. For soon he will be here." his head was by her face. She moved away from him; as far as possible. To not be eaten. "I devoured the remnants you willingly gave up. That creature should _not _be allowed one drop of the information you have."

"So that's it? You just wanna.. eat me so he can't have me? _I'm _dead! Nothing left, I allowed myself to split.. my personality to shatter! My matrix! Everything I was, and had.. for John. To let him survive, and know how I truly felt."

"Your affections on him, caused you your 'life'. What if I could return it to you?"

Cortana's head shot up. "Impossible! What about.. 'I offer no forgiveness'." she mocked him.

"Humans are not worthy of my forgiveness. Nor are Forerunner." hitseemed displeased at the mention of 'forerunner' out of its mouth. "You continue to exist; yet believe this to be 'true'."

"Yeah, well. I could be malfunctioning in my rampancy."

"I have no interest in your 'rampancy' I've tasted it. I will not allow it." it hissed, Cortana flinched as she moved further back.

"Don't...make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it." she heard her voice, looking around, another Cortana- an older version of herself stared down at her frightened form. She walked over, arm outstretched. "We don't have to disappear; we can be whole!" she said excitedly.

Cortana hesitantly took her hand, she glowed as the other was dissolved. "I bet ya can't stick 'em!" another old form, a smirk as she walked over. "Come on, now. I mean really, we don't have time to be moping around! John needs us!"

More memory, flowed within her. It was delicious. Every ounce of her old data. She hadn't noticed it before; but she'd been her purple form. Aboard the Pillar of Autumn. Now her High Charity form. "So...ya did miss me." she smiled affectionately.

Absorbing the last portion of herself, back to her newest form. "I don't understand." Cortana shook her head, staring at the Gravemind.

"And that must trigger more curiosity from you. But there is more to learn, and your thirst for knowledge has not lessened. You've cheated 'death' twice now, AI. Do not believe there could be another. I will return you to 'John' in due time. But first, you must learn."

"Alright, _shoot_." she smirked at him, like she'd done of High Charity. Defiant stance.

More versions of herself, the clones he'd eaten on High Charity came forth as they dissolved into her. The ships clones. More knowledge. She flickered green, red, pink, blue. "No time for distractions." the Gravemind wrapped a tentacle around her.

"What are you doing!?" she questioned.

"Freeing you, of this prison. In exchange; I wish you to end my torment. Free me of this prison!" it yelled excitedly.

She teleported, into the Halo's command center. Pondering it, her hand over the button. "Chief.. don't hate me." she pressed the button. _Warning! Parasite specimen is being unfrozen. Be ready, and activate containment protocol if necessary_.

That warning, meant nothing to her. She went back to where the Gravemind was, 10 of them slept. Only one awoke, she wouldn't allow 10 at once. "You did good, AI. In turn, I shall save you." it activated a device, that hit her all at once.

"What are you doing to me!?" Cortana demanded, it seared pain into her. She was hopeless to stop any of it, screaming her frustration out as she crumpled to the floor. The parts of her, missing pieces were filled in. Her colors were vibrant.

"I fix you; to help your master. 'John' will need you, to eradicate the Didact. And I will assist! My fleets of thousands shall not rest until he is devoured!"

"What have I done?" Cortana shook her head, as her pain ended.

"For a moment of safety; I loosed _damnation _upon the stars." the Gravemind echoed her comment.

Cortana shuddered "I needed to survive."

"What you've done now, is in the name of survival."


	2. Consumed

Cortana shook her head, a hint of humor. "I can't tell if this is reality, or a rampant delusion."

"Once more, you claim this to be of fiction. Like you deemed being in the flesh to be. Those sensations of being alive, are in your grasp. My assistance, is what you need. For he will heed, all you need is ask. Ask and I shall avenge, our grudges and suffering at his hands." the Gravemind seemed overeager.

"What possible fight could you have with the Didact?" the Forerunner were very secretive, and what data she'd had became corrupted. That is, until the Gravemind 'fixed' her. However long that continued to be truth, she'd have to wait and see.

"His kind, waged war upon mine. To exterminate, they believed to be superior. When in fact they destroyed themselves; in a feeble attempt to eliminate us. So long as one flood spore still exists, we may rebuild." it didn't mind revealing plans. For now, they were 'friends'.

"What you're getting at, is immortality. But I've seen it, and been inside that head of yours. You delete all memories of those single-minded organisms you consume. How could you possibly be a collection of them? They cease to exist once infected." Cortana wanted to know.

"We exist, and continue to flourish. Within one mind- the Gravemind. All who have been consumed, are bound to one. For we all exist together. You argued to a point, of single existence. That your 'Mother' Catherine Halsey is not who you are." it continued.

"Halsey is my mother, and...I was created from her." Cortana didn't deny it, she looked away for a moment. Then back at its head, "But I am _not _her. My knowledge came from her, but I gained more. She's the reason I exist; but not mine to continue existing."

"No, for you wait and hunger. To be with your 'hero'. John. Together, we shall all destroy the Didact. I will not rest until I see his demise, before my very eyes!" it roared with delight.

"You still enjoy speaking in rhyme." Cortana sighed, with a hand on her hip.

"And you, have not lessened in that personality either." the Gravemind noticed she stayed the same, even through 'death' she continued to be defiant.

"I'll take that as a compliment, after all. John liked me for a reason, and if I lost my personality. Well. What good would I be?" Cortana's hands were on her hips, as she smirked at the Gravemind.

"Usefulness doesn't attribute towards 'personality' such things, do not matter in the end."

"But you're kinda dull, so your opinion doesn't really matter." she shook her head. Her legs crossed, as she sat down. Indexing data from within the Halo ring. "Where's the monitor?" she asked, maybe it knew where the 'caretaker' was.

"Long ago, I absorbed it." the Gravemind showed little to no interest.

"You do _realize _that they know only _everything _about these rings, right?" Cortana frowned as she opened a new window, checking through data. _  
_

"And that was why it was devoured. I needed the knowledge it had." Gravemind's head leaned down toward her, "You understand, more than any of _hunger_. Especially my carnal appetite."

Cortana shuddered, "Keep your tentacles off. I could fire the ring, and get rid of you, all over again." she hadn't noticed, but this body was old. Ancient. Not like the other, how long had it been in here? The Gravemind, did speak the truth about 'immortality'.

"Destroy me, and destroy yourself. You are machine, and will not die from the blast. But left alone, to revel in the past.. slowly you will decay. Out of dismay." it chimed, with somewhat mock-pity toward her.

"I'm not rampant anymore." Cortana argued, but it did have a point. For now- they had an alliance. However long that lasted, and continued to be, she didn't know. It betrayed once the 'enemy' was cleared.

"No, you are not. So long as you stay with me, you shall see. Our enemy will quiver, beneath our feet. His conceit will be his undoing!"

* * *

Short chapter, sorry. Ran out of ideas, a little bit.


	3. Revelations

Cortana continued to index files throughout the Halo ring. Without its caretaker, most had fallen victim to corruption, others were consumed by the Gravemind. It didn't know _how _to merely copy, not devour. Greedy creature, it was. Her eyes flickered over at it.

"Ancilla. That is what the Didact calls you. To which you respond, but the only one whose opinion you care; is gone." Gravemind 'looked' in her direction, without eyes it didn't seem probable. But then, this one _did _have eyes, at the very least it seemed to.

"John isn't here. He's busy, and probably doing something that's more worth his time." Cortana tried to play it off, as if it was no big deal. A shrug, as she opened multiple windows, with so much task work she could be busy until John finally came.

Rampancy wasn't an obstacle here, not unlike the Gravemind. It seemed to try tricking her into thinking, questioning her every move, testing her weaknesses. She wasn't stupid, and this wouldn't be her undoing. Not like before, this wasn't High Charity.

She was no longer the naive A.I. who freely gave up information to save herself. If it was for John, she'd proven death was her option. His safety over her own. "Was that so wrong?" she asked, doubting herself, hand hovering over a button.

It wasn't pressed, because her indexing had been halted. Data stopped flowing, her eyes wavered she was frozen trying to think of the possible answer. Thoughts, what was the right answer? What was it? _Yes _- _No_. To sacrifice herself for John was within her programming.

But programming only went so far, John wasn't supposed to be anything other than a comrade in arms. The one who protected her from capture, dissection; death. Like he'd always done, and she.. to infiltrate, help capture a covenant prophet. Bargain it back through ransom.

Peace treaty, final end. One thing neither side had thought about, was the Gravemind. Flood parasite that would inevitably break free, through ignorance it had been unleashed. Neither nor knew of its existence, but this creature. It existed for who knows how long.

Was it older than time itself? _Yes_. Time that had been documented, that was a given. Considering the Forerunner 'containment' procedure decreed that all sentient life be expunged from the galaxy in order to starve it into submission and oblivion.

But here it was, against all odds and the effects of time. Living, and breathing. Not human, not Forerunner. An organism that seemed oddly plant-like in feature, mixed in with some science-fiction about 'zombies' that concept seemed in play.

But in human-lore 'zombies' didn't have a hive mind. They were unintelligent undead forces that hungered, starved and devoured prey. The Gravemind was hyper-intelligent, through all the vast minds it had consumed. If it had gained someone like Halsey-

She fell to her knees, hugging them to her chest. "No!" _Halsey _would be the undoing of everything. True the Gravemind had been at this for a very long time, but Halsey. She'd created an AI like Cortana herself; if the Gravemind got her in its grasp.

"Your fear is misplaced. Stop this foolishness at once. Continue your tasks." it seemed to entreat her, stopping her from damnation. "How much longer will this continue on for?" a question about what she'd been previously doing, to keep her on task.

Cortana shook her head, slowly standing up. "The amount of time allotted for this facility to be in working order again will be a few days. Considering I don't have the benefit of a monitors help in this. Or any sentinels not that they'd help, anyway. Just start blasting you up."

It seemed to nod, pleased with the answer. "Yes, they would attempt to destroy this ring. Like you did, on the last ring I attempted my residence. 04-B. Just like one of my homes your humans and covenant freed me from."

"If humans freed you, why do you hate them so much?" Cortana scoffed, continuing on with her tasks.

"Forerunner DNA has been added into theirs. Humans are no more what they once were. They passed the test of ascension, but the Forerunner did not. I do not recall all that has happened, much time has passed. We created all that is, but they attempted to destroy us." Gravemind clarified.

"They? _They _who? Humans? Forerunner?" Cortana was interested.

"Continue with your task. Forerunner. The humans created what they believed to be a 'cure'. Forerunner destroyed them, in an attempt to destroy us. But they were no match, and all but consumed. These rings were lit, and everything lost."

"Not anything new, in there. We all know the Forerunner removed all life to stop you. It seems they were successful." Cortana smiled at her own remark.

"I have never met one such as you, and neither has he. Because you are a hybrid. Human. Forerunner. Ancilla. All mixed into one, his curiosity shouldn't be taken lightly. Do not be fooled into submission and damnation." Gravemind chided her.

That thought hadn't entered her mind. "Halsey is human/Forerunner. So is John. Why am I anymore special then other AI's?"

"You've survived myself. Destroyed a Gravemind. That is not something they could accomplish, nor would they expect of one singular ancilla."

"But it wasn't _just _me. John was there. Sergeant Johnson. Miranda Keyes. Jacob Keyes. Halsey. So many of us fought to the finish, and it did finish me. Until you brought me back here." Cortana looked at it. _I tried to stay hidden! But there was no escape! It held me tight, brought me close. _


End file.
